


A Different Kind of Symmetry

by Miko



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-03-02
Updated: 2009-03-02
Packaged: 2017-10-21 08:48:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/223283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miko/pseuds/Miko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Symmetry has always been the most important thing in Kid's life, but maybe there's more to the concept than he realizes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Different Kind of Symmetry

Someone had pulled both curtains to one side of the window. Kid tried not to look in that direction, because every time he caught sight of it, he twitched. Really the entire suite was just so horribly asymmetrical, but at least everything else was where it belonged. The curtain was asymmetrical _and_ out of place.

Gritting his teeth, Kid deliberately turned his back on the window and continued to shuffle through the papers and magazines on the low table. They'd been in Monte Carlo for a week now, and although Liz and Patti had long ago learned not to leave their things scattered around in the common areas, Soul and Maka had no such consideration. Not for the first time since they'd arrived in Europe, Kid cursed his honoured father's generosity in letting them rent a suite instead of separate rooms.

But he wasn't supposed to be cleaning up, he reminded himself firmly. No matter how much his fingers itched to sort the magazines so they were more aesthetically pleasing. He was looking for a note or some other indication of where Maka had gone.

The door opened, and Kid glanced up to see Liz enter from the room the girls were sharing. Behind her through the doorway he could see Patti peering under the bed, as if expecting to find the missing girl crammed into the three inch gap between frame and floor.

"Well, all of her stuff is still here, as far as I can tell," Liz said unhappily. "She didn't even change into her clothes! And her bed hardly looks like it's been slept in at all. She must have gotten up right after Patti and I fell asleep."

Kid twitched again, struggling to concentrate on what Liz was saying. Turning to see her had brought the damned window back into his line of sight. Finally his patience snapped. "Aargh! Who would _do_ such a thing?" he demanded, clutching at his head.

"What? Do you think someone actually took her?" Liz looked startled and dismayed. "Did you find a ransom note or something?"

He couldn't take it anymore. It was going to drive him insane. Kid marched over to the window and yanked one curtain back to the other side of the frame where it belonged. He stood there for a moment, breathing hard, then turned and gave Liz a smile that was only a little shaky. "That's better. Sorry, what were you saying?"

Liz sighed and shook her head, amused. "I suppose I should be grateful you haven't spent all week rearranging the rooms to be perfectly symmetrical."

"I can't, the shape isn't symmetrical to start with," Kid said a touch sourly, thinking of the hours of effort he'd put into making his bedroom acceptable. It was still far from perfect, but at least it didn't drive him half mad just to look at it.

She blinked at him, then chuckled. "If I look in your room, it's going to be as close as you could make it, isn't it?"

Clearing his throat, Kid adjusted his jacket, making certain it was straight. He could feel a light flush on his cheeks, but he ignored it with dignity. He'd come a long way in the last few years towards getting a handle on his obsessions, in no small part thanks to Liz and Patti's influence, but the universe could only ask so much of a man.

"So, you didn't find any sign of her, either?" he asked, bringing the conversation back to the important matter at hand. She shook her head, and he sighed. "I suppose we'd best wake Soul, then."

They both looked at the door to the third bedroom in trepidation. Kid had claimed one room mostly so he could have a place he could arrange to his liking and retreat to when the chaos in the rest of the suite started to get to him. None of the girls were going to share with Soul, of course, so he'd gotten the extra room to himself while the girls squeezed in together. It wasn't an ideal arrangement, but it was the best they could do.

It was still barely dawn, and there had been no sign of life from Soul as yet. Kid had been hoping they would discover that Maka had only stepped out for a moment, because the prospect of telling Soul that his partner had gone missing - well, Kid could predict what would happen, and it wouldn't be pretty.

Still, the reaction would be much worse if they continued to allow Soul to sleep after establishing that something was definitely wrong.

"You and Patti go check the lobby," Kid ordered. "I'll fill Soul in, and we'll join you there in a moment."

"Okay." Liz reached back and caught Patti by the arm, hauling her out of their room.

"Are we done playing hide and seek?" Patti asked, confused. "But Maka's still winning!"

Kid waited until they were gone, then steeled himself. He tapped twice on Soul's door and opened it, already speaking. "Soul, wake up. We can't find..."

His voice caught in his throat and he froze in the doorway. He'd just found Maka. She was rather difficult to miss - in fact, he was seeing more of her than he'd ever seen before. She was curled up against Soul's side, her head on his shoulder, and both of them were naked to the waist.

Kid was instantly trapped between two powerful and wildly conflicting reactions. Presented with this image years ago when he'd first met them, Kid would have fallen instantly into a funk under the sheer, overwhelming weight of their asymmetry. Long blonde hair versus short, wild white; Maka was on her side while Soul was on his back; and of course, there was the obvious contrast of male and female.

And yet... and yet, he couldn't tear his eyes away, and it wasn't disgust or revulsion that held him fascinated. Maka looked pale and delicate against Soul's tanned chest. She'd filled out a lot compared to the flat-chested girl she'd been when Kid first met her. Soul's arm was wrapped around her waist and his hand rested just beneath her breast. The strong, muscled lines of his arm and hand made a stark contrast with her soft curves. There was a tender intimacy implied by their positions, and the easy way they slept so close together.

A low rumble filled the room, like a dog's warning growl, but it wasn't until Soul suddenly moved his hand to cover Maka's exposed chest that Kid realized what he was hearing. He jerked his eyes up and saw that Soul was awake, his red eyes open and locked on Kid with a death glare. When he saw that he had Kid's attention, he narrowed his eyes in a dangerous expression and mouthed clearly, 'Get out'.

For one more moment Kid remained, transfixed now by the intensity in Soul's eyes. He didn't think he'd ever seen such depth of emotion before, and he wondered if Maka realized how incredibly lucky she was.

Then he saw Soul's fist clench as Maka began to stir. Reason reasserted itself, and Kid fled before Soul decided that killing him was more important than not disturbing Maka.

He retreated to his own room, hoping to take solace in the symmetry he'd arranged there. He leaned against the door, needing its solid presence to help him stay upright. He was breathing hard, fighting to focus. Flashes of memory kept intruding, distracting him from his attempts to regain his calm.

It was the little details that kept coming back to him: the way his hand had looked against her skin; her face tucked into his shoulder; the mingling of their gold and silver hair; the fiercely protective and possessive expression in Soul's eyes.

Hideously asymmetrical, and yet breathtakingly beautiful at the same time. Kid's brain was threatening to shut down under the paradox. To make matters worse, his body wasn't confused in the least and was making itself very clear on the issue. The young shinigami had experienced the phenomenon humans referred to as 'hormones' before this, but never so strongly.

Voices from outside reached him dimly through the haze in his brain. "Maka! There you are."

"Huh? Were you looking for me?"

"It's stupid that you're all crammed in there. We live together anyway."

"Soul and Maka, sitting in a tree..."

"Shut up, idiot! I slept on the floor."

"Aww, that's so sweet!"

"Where's Kid?"

"I don't know, he was supposed to meet us downstairs to go look for you."

"Hide and seek! Kid's winning now!"

"Kid?" There was a knock on his door. "Kid, are you in there?"

'No, stay out,' he tried to say, but it came out as a hopeless moan. He heard the door open, and it lodged against his foot. It was only then that he realized he'd collapsed to the floor at some point. He was on his hands and knees, head on the ground and eyes tightly shut as if that would protect him from the images in his brain.

"Kid? Oh, geez." Liz squeezed through the narrow opening and knelt next to him. She rubbed his shoulder with one hand, speaking in a low, soothing voice. "What set you off this time?" He whimpered, rendered totally incoherent, and she sighed. "Patti! Get in here, I need you."

"Huh?" He heard soft footsteps, then Patti's familiar sing-song voice. "Awww, poor Kid. Don't worry, we'll make you all better!" She sat on his other side and nudged him until his head was cradled against her shoulder.

He clung to their familiar presence, soaking it up like an antidote to the madness in his mind. They continued to murmur to him, a litany of reassurances and comfort that had evolved over the years of their partnership. Finally he had recovered enough to be able to take a deep breath, and he looked up at them sheepishly.

"I'm okay," he said, a little hoarsely. "Sorry."

"No worries," Liz said. Patti released him and allowed him to sit up properly. "It's been a long time since I've seen you that bad, though. What happened? Was Soul's room that horrible?"

Just thinking about it made heat rush through his body and threatened to send him plunging right back into chaos. "I don't want to talk about it," he said hastily.

"I'm huuuuungry," Patti declared with a pout. "Breakfast time?"

"Soul and Maka went ahead to get us a table at the restaurant in the lobby," Liz said. "We should hurry, they're probably getting worried."

Kid's flush increased, and he wondered nervously if he was going to be thrown back into conflict just by seeing the two of them. That could make finishing this mission _very_ difficult.

"Eeeeeeh?" Patti leaned forward and peered at him closely, eyes wide. "Kid's blushing!"

"I'm doing no such thing," Kid immediately denied, even as he felt himself blush harder. He pulled every inch of his shinigami dignity around him and held it to him like an ephemeral version of his cloak, but he had a feeling it wasn't helping much.

"Heh, sure looks like you are," Liz said, patting his shoulder and grinning at him. "Don't be embarrassed. Not like it's the first time we've seen you in a funk. Probably won't be the last, either, even if you have gotten better."

He decided to let her believe her version of the cause of his blush. Pushing himself to his feet, he offered a hand to his partners, and smiled at them when they let him help them up. "Thank you, both of you." The words were unnecessary after so long together, but he knew they were still appreciated.

"Breakfast!" Patti insisted, and used her grip on his hand to tow him to the door. Chuckling, he let her take the lead, with Liz following behind shaking her head like an indulgent mother.

Soul and Maka had indeed saved them places, and thankfully said nothing about the delay. Then again, they were nearly as used to Kid as the Thompson sisters. He was grateful for that understanding as he settled into a seat, making certain to keep Liz and Patti between him and the other two. In particular, he wanted to be out of Soul's immediate reach, because there was still a great deal of irritation and anger lurking in the weapon's red eyes whenever he looked at Kid.

The meal was awkward, to say the least. The others seemed to write Soul's hostility off to grumpiness at having been woken so early, but Kid was excruciatingly aware of the true cause. He kept his attention on his food, carefully rearranging everything so it was symmetrical on the plate, then eating precise amounts from each side so he wouldn't throw it out of balance for more than a moment.

He didn't normally put that much focus into his food anymore, but today he used it as an excuse not to have to look at Soul and Maka. Even so he frequently caught himself sneaking glances at them, trying to decide if they were acting any differently than usual. As far as he could tell they were behaving exactly as they always did, which implied that the relationship had been going on for a while.

Well, it was fairly common for a meister and weapon to end up in a romantic relationship, he knew that. The strength and intensity of the bond formed by a good pairing easily crossed the line into that territory. And it didn't really surprise him that Soul and Maka would have gone that route.

It was only that he could _not_ get the image of the two of them together out of his head. Any time he caught a glimpse of Soul's strong hand or Maka's long golden hair, it sent him right back to the small eternity he'd spent frozen in their doorway, staring at them. Most especially he couldn't shake the memory of Soul's intense glare, and the depth of emotion in it.

Kid couldn't wait for breakfast to end, and he sighed with relief when they finally got their bill. "You all go ahead," he said, reaching for it. "I'll authorize payment for it and meet you outside."

"Just don't go AWOL on us this time," Liz teased him with a smile. "You've got five minutes, and then we're coming after you!"

He smiled weakly and waved her out, then went to take care of the bill. When he was done he turned to leave, and found himself face to face with Soul. A very irritated, predatory-looking Soul.

He froze again, heart pounding in his chest, struggling not to be caught in the other boy's gaze. Soul slung an arm over his shoulder to steer him towards the door, giving the appearance of two casual friends together to an observer, but Kid could feel the implied threat in the tight grip Soul had on him. "Maka doesn't know you saw us," Soul murmured in Kid's ear as they walked towards where the girls stood clustered outside the window. "If you say one word to anyone, or do _anything_ to embarrass her, I won't bother challenging you to a duel. I'll just kill you where you stand. Got me?"

The low growl in his voice made a shudder run down Kid's spine, but it wasn't fear that caused the reaction. Kid bit his lip hard to keep from moaning, and tasted the sharp copper of blood in his mouth. "I wouldn't do anything like that," he said carefully when he had control of himself again. "It was an accident, and I was just startled. Really, Soul. What do you think of me?"

"Just so we're clear," Soul said, and flashed a smile that showed far too many sharp teeth. Kid swallowed hard, and was relieved when Soul released him to walk to Maka's side.

Now all he had to do was make certain Soul never realized how much he kept thinking about the sight of them together, and Kid might yet survive this.

* * *

The main street of Monte Carlo was packed with noise and confusion, people everywhere and glaring neon signs on all sides. The casinos went beyond just 'overboard' in their attempts to draw people inside to spend money. It was a riot of noise, colour, and life.

"Waaah!" Patti exclaimed, eyes shining enough to rival the neon as she bounced on her toes. "It's so _bright_!"

"This is the life," Liz declared, stretching her arms up over her head and grinning when some passing boys whistled at the way her already short shirt crept up further. "Best way to celebrate finishing a mission _ever_. I can't believe Shinigami-sama let us stay the extra night."

"Fun, fun, fun," Patti chanted. "We're gonna have so much _fun_!"

"Where do you want to start, Kid?" Liz asked, glancing back over her shoulder.

Kid had fallen behind, stunned by the impact of the city. It was the first time they'd visited the main drag at night, and it was like walking into a different world. He was only vaguely aware of the sisters talking, his attention caught by one thing after another. This glaring sign, that glittering dress; this music blaring from an entranceway, that snatch of raucous laughter and conversation. It was as if the world had shattered to pieces, and all of the bright shards were whirling in and out of his sight.

He felt like he was drowning, lost in too many conflicting details. He couldn't focus on any one thing long enough to even properly identify it before it was lost and the next image was demanding his attention. His mind tried frantically to impose order on the chaos, and was doomed to failure.

Someone put a hand firmly over his eyes, blocking his sight and leaving him in blessed darkness. He gasped and coughed, his body remembering the importance of breathing. It felt like the world had tilted beneath his feet and he couldn't quite keep his balance. He flailed, and someone caught his hand and steadied him.

"It's okay," Liz said, her voice right in his ear, helping to block out the sounds as well. "Kid, just breathe, it's okay. We're right here."

He concentrated on following her suggestion. It was Patti who'd covered his eyes, he could tell now, and Liz who was steadying him. Not for the first time he gave thanks to whatever higher power had caused them to think he looked like a good target and brought them into his life.

"I'm okay," he said, though his voice shook and put the lie to his words. He was afraid it would just happen all over again the moment Patti let him see.

Perhaps she sensed that, because she only tilted her hand enough for him to see them leaning in close. The rest of the world was still blocked out. "Aw, Kid's having a really bad day," Patti said sympathetically.

"I guess this really isn't your kind of place, is it?" Liz said. He heard her sigh and saw a brief flash of regret and disappointment in her eyes before she smiled at him. "Oh, well. We'd probably just have spent too much money anyway. Let's go back, right, Patti?"

Her little sister wasn't as good at controlling her expression; she nodded, but she was pouting and clearly unhappy.

Kid felt guilty. How often in their years together had they passed up a chance to have fun in order to take care of him? And how many more chances would they have to party in a city like Monte Carlo? "Don't be ridiculous," he said. "There's no reason for you to have to sit around the hotel room just because I'm having issues. It's not as if you need me to guard you. You're perfectly capable of taking care of each other."

"Are you sure?" Liz looked at him uncertainly. "First you collapsed this morning, and now this - you're worrying me, Kid."

He made himself straighten his shoulders and lift his head, giving them as confident a look as he could manage. "I'm certain. The hotel is only a few blocks behind us, and those streets were fairly quiet. I'll be fine once I get back to our rooms. A night of peace and quiet would do me some good, actually. Maybe it's just having to be here, living in close quarters with Soul and Maka, that's got me so off balance."

"Well..." The longing in Liz's eyes was clear when she looked out over the glittering street. Finally she gave in to temptation. "All right. As long as you're _sure_."

Patti cheered and linked arms with her sister. "Bye-bye!" she chirped. "Don't have too much fun without us!"

"Don't you have too much fun, period," Kid replied, drawing on his dignity. He gave them a superior look that was unfortunately somewhat ruined by the amused smile he couldn't quite hide. "And _don't_ spend too much money!"

They waved over their shoulders at him, and he turned away before his attention could be caught by the chaos of the street again.

He made his way carefully back to the hotel. It was easier if he found an object at least mostly symmetrical in the direction he wanted to go, and focused only on that until he reached it. Then he would look ahead and find the next thing, and walk towards that. From the whispers and giggles around him he knew people thought he was drunk or high, but he ignored them with an effort. Once inside the hotel lobby he headed straight for the elevators, with their decorations of beautifully worked, blessedly symmetrical iron grillwork.

Even so Kid was sweating hard by the time he made it back to their suite, and just short of hyperventilating. He shut the door of his room behind him, kicked off his shoes and collapsed onto his bed. The wall across from the bed was where he'd spent most of his efforts carefully arranging things until it was a view of perfect symmetry, and he fixed his attention firmly on it. Slowly his breathing started to calm.

Just as he was starting to regain his equilibrium, a sharp cry rang through the suite. He was on his feet looking for the source of the threat before he even consciously registered the sound. He could sense Soul Eater and Maka's souls nearby, but there was nothing else in the immediate area.

A second cry was followed by a moan, at the same moment that Kid realized what the peculiar resonance he felt between the two souls meant. Kid's mind was inexorably pulled back to the image of them as they'd looked that morning, and heat ran through his veins like liquid fire.

The desire to see it again was almost overwhelming. Maybe if he could understand what it was that drew him despite the horrid asymmetry, he could deal with it and get on with his life. Or better yet, maybe seeing them now would make him realize that it had all been a momentary aberration, and there _wasn't_ anything attractive about the image. Then he could put it out of his mind once and for all.

He was actually reaching for the big mirror on the wall, his fingers inches from the surface, when he came to his senses. Shocked and appalled at himself, he snatched his hand back. To use his shinigami abilities to spy on them having sex - it was not only perverted, it was a gross misuse of his power. Almost as importantly, if Soul ever found out about it, Kid was a dead man.

Still the urge persisted, as bad as any of his obsessions had ever been. It was all he could think about, the image occupying his mind until it locked out everything else. Would motion enhance the contrast between Soul's powerful body and Maka's lithe curves? Would he see that same intensity in Soul's eyes, but born of passion instead of anger?

Would he ever get rid of this obsession if he _didn't_ look? It wasn't something he could check on or fix, like straightening his picture frames, in order to relieve the strain on his mind. What if it just kept getting worse, until he was right back to the state he'd been in years ago?

That thought broke Kid's will completely. He'd come so far, and put _so_ much effort into improving. Backsliding was the worst fate he could contemplate. He couldn't let that happen, at any cost. He reached for the mirror again before he could change his mind. Just one look, enough to put his mind at rest, and then he would never do such a shameful thing again.

Everyone knew his honoured father could use mirrors to communicate with people, and many had made the logical deduction that Death the Kid could as well. What very few people realized was that the connection didn't have to go both ways.

Summoning his power, Kid placed his hand on the mirror and brought to mind the clearest image of Maka and Soul he could think of. Not surprisingly, it was the picture of them in bed that morning. The mirror clouded over, and Kid held his breath. Now he just had to hope they were within sight of a reflective surface big enough to give him a good look.

The image resolved itself, and Kid gasped and took an involuntary step back. They were in range of a mirror, all right. In fact they were standing in front of the large mirror in Soul's bedroom, which meant the image was exactly the same as it would have been if he could simply see through the wall.

Soul was mostly hidden behind Maka, cradling her from behind. Her head was tilted back to rest on his shoulder, her eyes closed, but Soul was staring straight at Kid.

For a frantic moment Kid thought he'd worked the spell wrong and he was visible. But Soul's expression didn't change to outrage, and finally Kid realized the other man was only watching their reflections.

"Open your eyes," Soul growled, the sound of his deep voice sending shivers down Kid's spine. It seemed to have a similar effect on Maka, because she moaned and shuddered. "Look," Soul insisted, his red eyes burning with passion and need.

Maka opened her eyes slowly, looking almost drugged. That was when Kid realized that Soul had one hand on her breast inside her open blouse, and the other was hidden beneath her skirt between her legs. The muscles on that arm flexed, and Maka cried out again.

Kid's resolution to only look for a moment flew right out the window. They were unbearably beautiful together, to the point where he felt actual pain in his chest. It had nothing to do with symmetry, and everything to do with the matching expressions of intense love and desire in their eyes.

Maybe that was just a different kind of symmetry, when it came right down to it.

"Soul," Maka whimpered. She braced herself against the mirror with one hand, and Kid hesitantly stepped close again so he could lay his palm against the image of hers. It gave him a sense of contact with them, as if he was now involved in what they were doing.

With an evil little grin, Soul stopped whatever he was doing with his hidden hand, and tugged at her skirt. Maka moaned a protest, but obligingly wriggled her hips to help him get the material down. That left her dressed only in lacy panties and a matching bra, with her blouse hanging open off her shoulders.

Kid felt his breathing speed up as Soul ran his fingers under the lace that covered Maka's curls, and she moaned again. "See?" Soul murmured. "Look at yourself. And you wanted to know why I can't keep my hands off you." Maka's expression was one of tortured ecstasy, and Kid couldn't blame Soul in the least for wanting to see it as often as possible.

Without consciously being aware of what he was doing, Kid slid his other hand into the front of his pants. He shuddered when his fingers met heated flesh, his cock already hard and aching. Some vague part of him knew that doing this was even worse than just watching them, but the rest of him really didn't care at that moment. He'd never felt anything as incredible as he did when touching himself with Soul seemingly staring right at him with that heated expression.

He squeezed his cock once, then reluctantly let go long enough to fumble his fly open. That gave him enough room to get a good grip and stroke, and he bit his lip to stifle the moan that wanted to escape him. If he could hear them even before he'd activated the mirror, they would be able to hear him as well.

Deliberately he matched his pace to the slow flex of muscles in Soul's arm, teasing himself as Soul teased Maka. She was whimpering and rocking her hips into each touch. "Soul, please," she cried, panting for breath. "I... I need... please!"

"Say it," Soul ordered, stilling his hand. Maka shrieked a protest, and Kid nearly echoed her as he stopped in mid-stroke.

"Soul..." Maka choked out, all but begging. She still had her hand pressed to the mirror, and Kid imagined he could feel the heated touch of her skin against his.

" _Say_ it," Soul repeated, sharp teeth bared. He leaned in close to her, trailing his mouth over the side of her neck. Kid shivered in unison with Maka, gaze fixed on Soul's fierce eyes.

"I want..." Maka took a deep breath, trembling. "I want your cock in my pussy. Please." She was flushed bright red, but despite the shock of hearing her use such language, Kid thought the blush was from desire more than embarrassment.

The words had a galvanising effect on Soul. His eyes went dark and he growled, hooking two fingers in the delicate lace of her panties and yanking. The sound of tearing fabric was nearly lost in Maka's gasp, and both sounds thankfully covered the low moan Kid couldn't quite suppress.

Soul turned Maka around and backed her against the mirror, kissing her passionately. He wrapped strong arms around her waist and lifted her, and she locked her legs around him in response. Then they were moving together, Soul thrusting hard enough to rattle the mirror. Both of them were making little sounds of need and desire that were the hottest things Kid had ever heard.

Maka's body blocked most of his view now, but he could still see the only thing that really mattered; the expression on Soul's face as he drove into her body again and again. His eyes were open as he kissed her, shining with the depth of his emotion. Kid felt like he was drowning in red, and couldn't tear his gaze away.

When Soul ended the kiss and Maka tucked her face into his shoulder, Soul's face was only inches from the mirror. The image was so clear that Kid half believed he could reach right through the glass to touch him, to make him look at Kid with that painful intensity.

Maka was making the most amazing noises, little cries that rose in tone and volume with each thrust, until she was shrieking. She threw her head back so hard it was a wonder the mirror didn't break, her back arching as her orgasm hit her.

Kid pressed himself against the mirror, the glass cool against his heated face and cock. He imagined he could feel Maka against him through the glass, and that was all he could take. He stuffed his other fist in his mouth to muffle his helpless shout as he came hard all over his hand and the mirror.

Two more thrusts and Soul followed her over the edge, his teeth gritted and eyes falling shut at last as he shouted his pleasure. Kid immediately regretted the loss of that hypnotizing gaze, and wished he dared say something to make Soul look at him again.

All three of them stayed there for a long minute catching their breath; the two lovers still tangled together, and their clandestine observer pressed tight to the mirror, as close to them as he could get.

Finally Soul let Maka slide slowly down to rest on her feet again. She was trembling hard enough that he had to keep an arm around her waist to help steady her. "You all right?"

Her voice was hoarse when she answered, but full of dreamy pleasure. "I'm _so_ glad the others went out for the night."

"Mm." Soul looked smugly satisfied. "I love it when you scream. It's not as much fun when we have to stay quiet."

Biting his lip, Kid stepped back and drew his hand out of his pants. He was a mess, and his skin crawled with the need for a shower. He wouldn't be getting it any time soon, though; not if he didn't want them knowing that he was here, and suspecting what he'd been up to. His heartbeat was still frantic, but guilt and shame were creeping over him. What had he done?

He reached out to clear the image from the mirror, but froze when Maka gasped and went rigid. "Oh, _no_!"

"What?" Soul said, startled and alarmed. "What's wrong?"

"It's Death the Kid!" Maka said, her voice a strangled whisper. Kid was certain his heart had stopped in his chest, and the sweat on his body suddenly felt ice cold. She knew. Somehow, she knew, and Soul was going to tear him into little tiny bite-sized pieces of shinigami. "He came home without the others for some reason. He's right in the next room!"

Relief swept over him as Kid realized she was only sensing the presence of his soul nearby, not aware of him watching them in the mirror. Soul relaxed as well. "So?" the weapon asked, thumping her gently on the head. "Don't scare me like that, idiot. I thought I'd hurt you."

"But he must have heard us," Maka said, burying her face in her hands. Kid couldn't see her expression with her back to the mirror, but he imagined it was a good match for his own - humiliated and embarrassed.

"Yeah, so?" Soul repeated. He shrugged casually, but Kid could see he was watching carefully for her reaction. "Is it really the end of the world if he finds out we're sleeping together?"

"It's not that," Maka moaned. "It's... it's _cruel_ , rubbing his nose in it like this."

"Huh?" Soul and Kid spoke on the same breath, and now Kid was pretty sure it was Soul's bewildered expression that matched his own. "How's that again?" Soul asked.

"Can't you see it?" Maka asked, lowering her hands and looking at Soul. "He's so lonely."

"Lonely!" Soul laughed. "He's got Liz _and_ Patti. Why would he be lonely?"

"It's not the same," Maka insisted. "Their relationship isn't like ours. If you could see his soul the way I do..." She shook her head, clearly unable to put what she saw into words.

Kid was stunned. His soul looked _lonely_?

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it now." Soul drew her away from the mirror and pulled her towards the bed by one hand. "What's done is done."

Now Kid could see Maka's face again. She looked troubled and worried, yet her eyes were soft and full of love when she looked at Soul. "I just wish he could open up enough to let himself get that close to someone," she said. "He deserves it."

"Stop thinking about him while you're in bed with me," Soul scolded her. "You're gonna make me think I'm not doing my job right." He pulled her close for another kiss, the look in his eyes promising that he planned to do everything in his power to erase Kid from Maka's mind entirely.

Hastily Kid erased the image before he could be drawn in again. Once was bad enough. He wasn't going to violate their privacy like that ever again.

He slid down the mirror to collapse on the floor. After a moment he tucked himself into a tight little ball, face buried in his knees, fighting to steady his breathing. His attempt to purge their image from his mind had backfired spectacularly, and he knew he would never, _ever_ forget what he'd just seen. Even now, just moments after experiencing it, he desperately wanted to see it again. It was all he could do not to reactivate the mirror and watch whatever it was Soul was now doing to draw the moans he could faintly hear from Maka.

With all his heart, Kid wished he had never opened Soul's door that morning. He had a horrible suspicion he was going to regret it for the rest of his life.

* * *

Long after the sounds from Soul and Maka's room had stopped, Liz and Patti found him huddled in front of the mirror. Presumably they'd come in to check on him; he wasn't actually aware of them until Liz put her hands on either side of his face and forced him to look up. Something about what she saw made her look first shocked, then upset. "Oh, _Kid_ ," she murmured, her voice breaking. Patti was right behind her, hovering anxiously over her shoulder because Kid had wedged himself into a corner and they couldn't both get at him.

"You're crying," Patti said, reaching out to brush her fingers over his cheek. He felt the wetness there and realized she was right. When had that happened? Recently, if the tears were any indication. Well, it would explain why he'd had so much trouble just trying to breathe, but that meant he'd been crying the whole time he'd been sitting there. He'd been too lost inside his head to even notice.

"That's the third time today, when you haven't been this bad in months," Liz said, the frown on her face a sharp contrast to her gentle tone. "What's going on? Talk to us, Kid. Are we your partners or not?"

"I'm a depraved, horrible person, and I don't deserve to exist," Kid told them miserably. The litany was familiar from frequent repetition, but he'd never meant the words quite as much as he did now. "And this time you'd both agree with me." He was shaking, his guilt and shame too much for him to bear.

"Never!" Patti cried, and flung herself at him, shoving her sister out of the way. She wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him. "Never, never, never! Nobody's allowed to say stuff like that about our Kid!"

"Not even you," Liz added dryly.

"You wouldn't say that if you knew what I'd done." Kid clenched his hands on his knees, trying to pull himself in even tighter. Patti was having none of it, pushing herself on him until he had to either move his legs to let her into his lap or suffocate.

Of course, the moment he relented and uncurled enough for her to sit, he was excruciatingly aware that his pants were still undone and he was a mess. Patti either didn't notice or didn't care - it was hard to tell with her, sometimes.

The shift in position allowed Liz to settle in beside him, her shoulder against his but her body turned so she could see his face. "Try us," she challenged him, one eyebrow lifted.

"I..." Kid was very tempted to lie, or just refuse to answer. But they _were_ his partners, and he'd seen too many painful examples over the years at Shibusen of why it was a bad idea to keep secrets from your partner. Better they find out now, from him, than later in some other way. If they wanted to leave him, he wouldn't blame them or try to stop them.

"I used the mirror to spy on Soul and Maka having sex," he admitted, hunching in on himself as much as he could with Patti snuggled up to his chest.

There was no immediate outcry of disgust. They didn't even recoil from him. To his shock, Patti's first reaction was to punch the air and cheer. "Yay! I _knew_ it! Soul and Maka, sitting in a tree..."

"And you didn't invite us to watch?" Liz demanded. He wasn't sure if her indignation was false or not. It certainly looked real.

"Liz!" he protested, scandalized. Bad enough that _he_ had done it. He certainly wouldn't have invited the two of them to join him in his depravity.

"Can we watch next time?" Patti asked with every semblance of innocence. Only the wicked gleam in her eyes made him certain that she knew exactly what she was asking.

" _Patti_!" Kid hardly knew how to handle this. Neither of them had the particular amused tilt to their lips that he'd learned meant they were just ruffling his feathers, but they _couldn't_ be serious. Could they? If they were teasing him, the joke was in extremely bad taste.

Liz laughed, and slung an arm over his shoulders. "If you were looking for an outraged moral reaction, you're talking to the wrong people. Remember how we met?"

"Gimme yer money," Patti said, aiming her hand at him like a gun. "Bang!"

"B-but..." Kid sputtered, completely thrown.

"Not to mention we just came home considerably richer than we started the night, and not a single casino caught us cheating," Liz added smugly. Patti blew a raspberry, presumably indicating her opinion of the casino security teams.

"But...!"

"But, nothing." Liz grinned and hugged him a little tighter. "What, did you think we'd cry 'shame on you!' and storm off in a huff? Please. You'll have to do a _lot_ worse than a little harmless voyeurism to chase us off."

"I doubt Soul and Maka would consider it 'harmless'," Kid pointed out sourly.

"Okay, I wouldn't _tell_ them about it, no," Liz agreed. "But their reaction isn't relevant. Hell, Kid, I wouldn't care if you'd been spying on _us_ having sex. It's still not anywhere near enough to drive us away."

"You?" Kid looked back and forth between them, startled. He knew they were close, but he hadn't thought they were _that_ close.

"No, not like that, twit." Liz thumped his shoulder. "It was a general statement. We're not sleeping with each _other_."

"But we're real good at sharing." Patti's voice had an unusual note in it - almost like she was purring. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in close. Her grin was less playful than usual, and a great deal more predatory. The sisters exchanged a glance that he couldn't interpret. They were good at that, holding entire conversations sometimes without saying a single word. It occasionally drove him crazy, but tonight it made him nervous for some reason.

Liz shifted so she could drape herself over his shoulder and murmur right into his ear. "So? What did you think?"

"Th-think?" he repeated, a little startled by the seeming non-sequitur. He wasn't used to having them quite _this_ close to him. Patti had moved so she was straddling his legs, which made him far too aware of the state of his clothing, and Liz's new position pressed her breasts against his side.

"Of the show?" she prompted him. "Was it hot?"

Patti wiggled in his lap, making him gasp. "I think he liked it," she giggled. "No fair! He _did_ have too much fun without us."

"It wasn't _fun_ ," Kid protested, trying not to think of how much he _had_ enjoyed it at the time. She wiggled again, and he grabbed her waist to try to hold her still. His body was still sensitive from what he'd been doing earlier, and the friction of her rough shorts against the soft skin of his cock was causing a reaction. The feel of the warm, bare skin of her midriff didn't help, either.

"Oh yeah?" Patti stuck her tongue out. "Liar, liar, pants on fire." Then to his shock she reached down and slipped her hand right into his open fly, running curious fingers over his shaft.

He jerked, startled, but her weight kept him in place. Teeth closed on his ear, and tugged lightly at the delicate skin. "I'm inclined to believe Patti, given what's dried all over the mirror," Liz teased him, her voice a husky purr that matched Patti's earlier tone.

He flushed _again_ , both from embarrassment and in reaction to what they were doing to him. "Wh-why..." He broke off with a gasp when Liz trailed her mouth down to bite at his throat instead. He remembered Soul mouthing Maka in the same spot, and moaned.

"Ooh, he likes that," Liz said, licking the place one last time before looking up to grin at her sister. "That's one for me."

"He likes this, too," Patti said, stroking her fingers over his cock again. "And I made him squirm first. _Two_ for me."

"Guess I'll just have to work hard to catch up," Liz said, and didn't sound dismayed by the prospect. She ran one hand over Kid's chest, her fingers working on the fastenings of his jacket.

"What are you _doing_?" Kid demanded, and his voice cracked on the last word as Patti squeezed him.

"Seducing you, dummy," Patti said airily, somehow still managing to look completely innocent despite the hand she had down his pants.

"Since it's working," Liz said, nibbling at his ear again. "We were starting to believe you just weren't interested in sex, or something."

"We waited and waited and _waited_ and waited," Patti huffed, pouting in exasperation.

"But you never made a move." Liz succeeded in opening his jacket and dress shirt, and slid her hand over the bare skin of his chest. Her fingers found and tweaked a nipple, making him moan again. "Two for me! And there _are_ all those rumours about how Shinigami-sama must have budded you or cloned himself or whatever. I thought maybe we were too human for you."

" _What_?" Kid exclaimed, momentarily distracted from what they were doing by the idea of his honoured father _cloning_ him. "That's ridiculous. We... ah!"

Patti grinned at her sister. "Three for me," she chirped, and rubbed her thumb over his slit again.

"Who knew you were just shy?" Liz said, amused, pinching the nipple once more and then scraping her long nails down his chest hard enough to leave a mark behind. He groaned and threw his head back, arching into the touch helplessly. "Hmm, teeth _and_ nails. I think maybe he likes it a little rough, Patti."

Patti giggled, and though it was the same sound she always made, now Kid heard undertones of something that definitely wasn't childlike. "Lucky us," she said, and ducked her head to bite down on the nipple Liz had been tormenting. At the same time Liz moved her hand down to join her sister's on Kid's cock, and together they stroked him slowly.

With a strangled shout Kid rocked his hips into their touch, completely lost under the spell they were weaving around him. Now he knew how Maka had felt, and what had put that drugged look of ecstasy on her face.

Slowly, not quite believing this was actually happening, Kid moved his hands up from Patti's waist. When his fingers brushed the bottom of her shirt, he slipped his thumbs beneath the stretchy material to rub over the skin just beneath her breasts. He held his breath the whole time, half expecting one of them to slug him for taking liberties like they usually did when he unthinkingly got too personal.

Instead Patti gave a breathless moan that made Kid's cock throb, and she shifted in an obvious effort to get him to move higher. He obliged her, pushing her shirt up and cupping her full breasts in his hands, thumbs teasing the stiff nipples.

She squirmed and stopped biting and licking his chest to smirk up at Liz. "I win," she declared smugly.

"Bullshit you do," Liz retorted. "This isn't over yet. We're just getting started."

"I think I'm the one who's winning, actually," Kid said, dazed. He released Patti with one hand and caught Liz by the back of the neck, tugging until she was close enough for him to lean in and kiss her.

Remembering the fierce passion Soul had showed, and the way it had made Maka react, Kid did his best to put everything he was feeling into the embrace. Awe and wonder warred with desire and need, with a healthy dose of lust and even love mixed in. She moaned and melted against him, opening her mouth and tangling her tongue with his but letting him dominate the kiss. She tasted of wine and faintly of gunmetal, and he'd never experienced anything so intoxicating.

When he finally pulled back she gasped and half-collapsed against his shoulder, panting for air. "Oh, wow," she said, and now she was the one who sounded dazed. "Patti, you have _got_ to try that. Where the fuck did you learn to kiss like that, Kid?"

"No fair! My turn!" Patti pushed Liz out of the way and fastened her mouth to Kid's before he could answer. Unlike her sister she took charge of the embrace immediately, biting at his lip and sucking on his tongue when he slid it into her mouth. Her taste was gunmetal and sugar, and it was just as addicting as Liz had been. His feelings for her were equally as intense, and again he tried to communicate all of it through the inadequate means of the kiss.

"Whooee," Patti said when she was forced to come up for air. She blinked rapidly, then grinned. "Again!"

"Oh, no you don't," Liz cut her off before she could kiss Kid again, and elbowed her out of the way. "You had your turn, now he's mine again."

"Hey!" Kid protested being fought over like a favourite toy, but he was laughing as well. "I thought you said you were good at sharing."

"We're not having a catfight to see who gets to keep you to herself, are we?" Liz pointed out loftily, one eyebrow raised. "Good enough. Now stop talking and kiss me again, damn it. I've waited _way_ too fucking long for this."

Technically she kissed him first, but it hardly mattered who initiated the embrace. Kid slid his hand down from her neck over her back, which made her squeal against his mouth and shiver. When his hand reached the waist of her low-riding pants she moaned. He tried to work his fingers under the fabric as he'd done with Patti's shirt, but there was no room. He had to settle for cupping the curve of her ass through the material, but even that was enough to make her shudder.

"God damned tight pants," she muttered when she broke away. "Why do you make us wear these stupid matching outfits, anyway?"

"Mine aren't tight," Patti gloated. " 'Specially not now." She threw her shorts at Liz, and only then did Kid realize she'd taken the opportunity to strip down while he was preoccupied with Liz. Now she sat naked in his lap, totally unashamed and unabashed. Her large breasts gave the lie to her childlike appearance, as did the heavy-lidded look of desire on her face. Kid gasped as she grabbed his cock again and positioned herself, the muscles in her thighs bunching as she slowly lowered herself onto his shaft.

The tight, wet heat of her body was unlike anything Kid had ever felt before, and he cried out and fought the urge to thrust up. He didn't want to hurt her, and he knew it could be especially painful for girls the first time. Assuming this _was_ her first time. He was starting to wonder, given just how good they both were at seducing him.

"Ahhh! Patti, you cheated!" Liz exclaimed. Patti just made a smug noise and tipped her head back as she came to rest against his lap again, this time with his cock buried inside her. Her whole face was glowing with pleasure, her cheeks flushed and eyes bright. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, and they both moaned when the slight change in position let him press that much deeper into her body.

"Hmph. See if I let you get his lap again anytime soon." Liz reached for the bottom of her shirt and pulled it up over her head, baring her upper body to his view as well. She shook her head, letting her long hair drift over her shoulders to drape appealingly over her breasts, half hiding them. Somehow the teasing glimpses he got were even sexier than seeing them outright.

The sense of something _wrong_ tugged at Kid's mind despite the fog created by the incredible feel of Patti squeezing around him. It was a familiar pull, a feeling that something was badly out of balance and needed to be fixed, _right now_. It was too strong for him to ignore or brush off, but he was confused. Granted the position the three of them were in was hardly symmetrical, but it hadn't been bothering him two seconds ago. He fought it, irritated that it was distracting him from what might well be the most important thing he'd ever done in his life.

Then Liz undid her pants and slid a hand inside, and Kid understood what was unbalanced. Liz thought Patti had 'won', and in winning had left Liz locked out of the circle of intimacy. She meant to get herself off while watching them have sex, just as he had done earlier with Soul and Maka.

Having experienced that for himself, Kid knew the last thing he wanted to do was inflict Liz with the achingly lonely sensation of being just on the outside of something you wanted badly to be part of. "No," he said, his voice rasping in his throat as he struggled to focus. "Liz, Patti, stop."

Liz froze with a startled whimper, her hand still down the front of her pants. Patti squirmed unhappily in his lap until he tightened his arms to stop her, but the motion meant he had to pause for a moment to gather his thoughts before he could continue. "Not like this," he finally managed to say, shaking his head. "We do this together or not at all, same as we do everything else."

"Huh?" Liz looked confused, and Patti's eyes went very wide.

"Do you have _two_?" the younger girl exclaimed, and reached behind her to pat at the crotch of his pants like she expected to find a second cock hidden in the loose fabric there.

"No, of course not," Kid snorted. He caught her hand and brought it to his mouth so he could kiss the palm briefly, then he reached for Liz again. "Take your pants off and come here," he demanded. "I want to taste you."

A delicate flush swept over her face. He was fascinated to see that it went all the way down to her breasts, turning the creamy skin a beautiful shade of rosy pink. Her dusky nipples crinkled and pulled into tight little peaks, and he brushed his fingers against one just to hear her gasp. She moaned and scrambled to shed the rest of her clothes.

Patti tried again to squirm, and Kid held her still and gave her a stern look. She pouted at him, but he'd developed a certain immunity to her pouts long ago. He struggled not to show how easily she could break his control just by moving like that again; it was already taking everything he had not to flip her over and thrust into her as hard and fast as Soul had taken Maka.

Liz climbed into his lap in front of her sister, and the look on her face was almost shy. He put one hand on her hip and urged her up onto her knees, which put her slick curls right in front of his face. She smelled just like she tasted, and Kid leaned forward tentatively to place his mouth against her. She gasped and arched her back, one hand braced against the mirror to steady herself and the other tangling in his hair to hold him in place. Not that he needed the encouragement, not when she tasted even better here than her mouth, and every tiny flick of his tongue and scrape of his teeth made her moan and shudder.

Clearly growing impatient, Patti wrapped her arms around her sister from behind and buried her face between Liz's shoulder blades. She wriggled again, too hard for Kid to hold her still this time, and he gave in to what they both wanted so badly and released her. With a pleased noise she lifted herself up, then sank back onto him again before repeating the motion. Kid gasped, which made Liz moan again and rock against him.

Kid's tongue found a harder bit of flesh among the hot folds, and Liz made a noise that was closer to a scream than a moan. Belatedly it occurred to him that Soul and Maka could undoubtedly hear everything they were doing, but he dismissed the thought the moment it came to him. He'd worry about it later. He focused his attention on the sensitive place he'd found, and Liz rewarded him by tightening her hand in his hair almost to the point of pain and pushing herself against his mouth.

That made Patti giggle for some reason. "Lizzie is se~xy," the younger girl chanted, matching the rhythm of her movements to her words. "Sex, sexy, sexy sex!"

Liz laughed, the sound shaky and breathless. "Too bad you can't see the mirror now, Kid," she said, flexing her fingers in his hair. "Bet it's a lot hotter than Soul and Maka were."

For a moment Kid did regret it, because from this angle he couldn't see anything and he could only imagine what their expressions would be right now. But there would be plenty of chances for him to see it if he had anything to say about it, and it didn't seem like they'd be inclined to argue with him.

Moaning again, Liz rocked her hips a little harder against him. He responded by flicking his tongue repeatedly against that sensitive place, and let her feel just the edge of his teeth as well. The trembling in her body became shudders, and this time she did scream as she threw her head back and strained against him. He pressed harder, and her hips bucked. "Enough! Enough," she pleaded, though she made no move to pull away first. "Oh god, Kid, please, I can't take it. Enough!" She screamed again when he closed his teeth gently on the nub, and he felt the muscles in her thighs and stomach tighten.

"I don't think he believes you," Patti snickered. She slowed her pace, teasing them both and making Kid moan. Liz shrieked, and this time she did jerk her hips out of his reach. Kid fell back against the mirror, panting for breath and, he was fairly certain, grinning like an idiot.

Liz slid out of his lap, but before he could protest the loss she climbed right back on again, behind Patti this time. She put her hands on her sister's waist, supporting and encouraging her. "You are one hell of a son of a bitch, Death the Kid," she said breathlessly, smiling at him over Patti's shoulder. "And I mean that in the nicest possible way."

"Touch me now," Patti demanded, increasing her pace again. "My turn, Kid!"

"Say 'please'," Liz teased her, and Patti stuck her tongue out and rocked her hips hard to make Kid gasp again.

"Close enough," he declared, and reached eagerly for her. Her breast felt heavy in his hand, and she squirmed and moaned when he thumbed the nipple. He slid the fingers of his other hand through her slick curls, and she squealed and shuddered. He found the same hard nub of flesh that Liz had, and it seemed to be just as sensitive a spot on Patti. She leaned back against Liz and moved faster, matching the rhythm of his fingers against her.

He released her breast and wrapped his arm around her waist, his hand resting on Liz's hip to make sure she was still included. Liz moaned, her eyes half closed but watching them all in the mirror. The look of smug satisfaction on her face, combined with Patti's expression of frantic pleasure and need, was the most erotic, appealing thing Kid had ever seen, but he was having trouble concentrating on it. Patti felt too good, her body hot and slick and _tight_ around his cock, and now that he wasn't distracted by Liz it was overwhelming him.

Their weight kept him from moving much, but he rocked his hips up into her thrusts as best he could. He ached to be able to drive into her hard and fast, and resolved that next time _he_ was going to be the one on top.

Then all thought was swept from his mind as the world splintered, and everything exploded. He gave a strangled shout as his muscles tightened, arching up as hard and deep into Patti as he could manage. She gave a little cry as well, letting herself rest in his lap but grinding against his fingers to remind him that he was supposed to be moving them. Reflexively Kid flicked his fingers over her again, not really aware of what he was doing as the world slowly resolved itself around him again.

 _Something_ he did made Patti scream, and then she was shuddering and convulsing around him, her whole body shaking with the force of what had to be her orgasm. Kid groaned and pushed up into her, wanting more of that incredible sensation even though he'd just come.  
Patti was squirming again, her hands scrabbling at his chest like she was searching for something to hold onto. Liz wrapped her arms around her sister's waist and held on tight, supporting her. Patti kept making little mewling noises of need and pleasure, her face flushed with ecstasy. For once she looked her true age, and Kid thought she was more beautiful than ever.

Dropping one hand, Liz caught Kid's wrist and pulled him away from her sister. "Enough, Kid," she murmured with a soft laugh. "You're going to drive her insane. You do like teasing us, don't you?"

"Do I?" he asked somewhat vaguely, too giddy and limp with pleasure to think properly. Patti collapsed against his chest, bracing herself on her forearms and panting, her face inches from his. Liz draped herself over her sister, and Kid didn't mind in the least having both their weight on him.

Looking into their eyes, he saw a depth of love and need that easily rivalled the intensity in Soul's expression before. With a sense of wonder, he finally understood just what it was about Soul and Maka that had drawn him so strongly. It wasn't really the erotic aspect of watching them together, though that had certainly played a part. It was the beauty of their feelings for each other, as their souls resonated together so well they became a perfect match. Different, and yet balanced. What he had done by spying on them was ugly and sinful because it was unreciprocated, throwing everything out of balance and degrading the beauty of their symmetry in the process.

He chuckled, then started to laugh helplessly. In that moment he realized two very important things. The first was that Maka was right - he _was_ lonely, a soul-crushing loneliness that had been with him for so long he'd never realized it was there. Small wonder he'd been so desperately drawn to the image of Soul and Maka together. It was a glimpse into a world he'd only been vaguely aware of, like a window he could peer through to see a paradise he longed for so badly it hurt.

The second thing he realized was that he was a complete and utter idiot, because the answer to that loneliness was sitting right in his lap, and had been there for years if only he'd noticed. He didn't need to intrude on Soul and Maka's private moments to experience that balance - that _love_ \- vicariously. He had the real thing right here, twofold. Even the fact that there were an odd number of people didn't throw the balance off, because all three of them matched each other's feelings.

"What's so funny?" Liz asked, startled.

"Perfect symmetry," he said, reaching up with one shaking hand to caress first her cheek, then Patti's. "Right in front of me all along, and I never saw it."

"No we're not," Patti mumbled around a yawn, snuggling in a little closer. "We don' match right 'less we're guns."

"Perfect," Kid insisted, and smiled. "But don't go to sleep here, Patti. There's a nice big bed right over there, and we'll all be much more comfortable in it. Stay with me tonight?"

Patti gave a sleepy cheer and kissed him soundly. Liz stretched and purred at him. "I thought you'd _never_ ask. C'mon, Patti. The bed will _definitely_ be more comfortable." She pulled away from him and stood, then tugged Patti up as well. Kid gasped when he slid out of her body, the cool air a shock after her intense heat.

"Aww, but I like cuddling on him," Patti complained.

"You'll like it more in a moment," Kid promised her, and shed his now thoroughly dirty clothes before he crawled into the bed after the sisters. It took them a few tries to find a position that suited all three of them, but they finally settled with Liz and Kid facing each other, heads together and arms loosely over each other's waists, cradling the smaller Patti between them. It wasn't symmetrical, but Kid decided that for just this one thing, he really didn't care. The symmetry of their souls was enough to make up for it.

Kid wondered if there was any possible way he could thank Soul and Maka. If not for his brief obsession with them, his eyes might never have been opened to the possibilities before him. If only all his obsessions were as easy to shake as this one had turned out to be, and as rewarding.

In the end, however, he decided that discretion was definitely the better part of valour in this case. Soul and Maka were better off not knowing - especially if he didn't want Soul to rip out his vital organs. It would never happen again, that was the important thing.

"So, _are_ you going to let us watch with you next time?" Liz asked as if reading his mind, her eyes sparkling as she grinned at him over Patti's head.

"Liz!"

"Yay, we can make it a game! Let's see who gets off first!"

" _Patti_!"


End file.
